| EDITORIAL | September 2006 |
A new look for IM@T.Online
and what’s in store this month
AS YOU can see the September issue of IM@T.Online has a new look. We began IM@T.Online in September 2002 so we felt that, after four years, a make-over was due. We hope you like it.
One of the big industry news items is that IBM and FileNet have entered into an agreement for IBM to acquire FileNet - a huge player in the computer world taking over one of the biggest players in content management. One of the benefits is that customers will now deal with a single vendor for all their content management needs and how these relate to business processes.
Another buy-out is that of Open Text™ Corporation, a leading provider of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software, and Hummingbird Ltd. under which Open Text will acquire through a wholly-owned subsidiary, all of Hummingbird’s outstanding shares. It is hoped that the acquisition will benefit shareholders, customers, partners and employees of both companies. With its historic presence in the legal and government verticals, Hummingbird is a strategic fit with Open Text’s focus on ECM solutions aimed at vertical markets and regulatory compliance.
Speaking of compliance, Steve Tongish of Plasmon is the author of one of this month’s articles, Compliance and Risk Management - A Big Challenge for Small Business, which focuses on SMEs. We hear a great deal about the ‘big boys’ but considerably less about the small and medium-sized companies and, of course, they have to comply with the latest rules and regulations without the benefit of corporate money and legal departments.
Indeed, Enterprise Content Management (ECM) now available to medium-sized enterprises thanks to The Content Group which has added EMC Documentum ApplicationXtender™ 5.2, a content management suite for fixed images, electronic files, reports and other business-related information, to its solutions portfolio.
Another article author, Hugh Jenkins of Dell UK, also has his eye on compliance when he asks: How do companies ensure they are archiving and protecting business data to comply with electronic data laws?
Compliance is closely linked with records and document management. An effective archive management strategy and infrastructure is fundamental to two vital business tasks: communicating effectively with customers to produce enduring commercial growth; and complying with the increasing tide of regulatory standards. Richard Thompson, Managing Director, Pitney Bowes Management Services, outlines the key points to consider in the implementation and management of an effective document archive.
But what about unstructured data? Even that is becoming significantly less expensive to manage with new archiving software says Patrick Dowling of Bridgehead Software.
Case studies this month cover a range of implementations from central government departments (Insolvency Service and Department of Transport) to electoral registration and human resources in local authorities (Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council and Nottinghamshire County Council) as well as in the private sector.
All that, and more, should give you plenty of food for thought until next month, October, which sees the last ever printed edition of Cimtech’s quarterly journal Information Management & Technology. But, don’t worry, IM@T Online will continue every month.
Anne Grimshaw, Editor
